Press for the pressing of wearing apparel or parts thereof

ABSTRACT

A PRESS FOR TEXTILE GOODS COMPRISING A PRESSING TABLE AND A FRAME UPON WHICH IS MOUNTED A FOIL E.G. OF GLASS FIBRE ARMOURED SILICONE RUBBER AND MEANS FOR OBTAINING A VACUUM BETWEEN THE TABLE AND THE FOIL WHEN THE LATTER IS DISPOSED AGAINST THE TABLE WITH THE TEXTILE GOODS BETWEEN THEM.

Jan. 19, 1971 v. E. MIKKELSEN 3,555,711

PRESS FOR THE PRESSING OF WEARING APPAREL OR PARTS THEREOF Filed Dec. 2, 1968 1'- 8 h A l 3 ZNVENTDR vns/v E. H/K/fELs E /v ATTORNEYS United States Patent O ice US. Cl. 38-71 5 Claims ABSTRACT on THE DISCLOSURE A press for textile goods comprising a pressing table and a frame upon which is mounted a foil e.g. of glass fibre armoured silicone rubber and means for obtaining a vacuum between the table and the foil when the latter is disposed against the table with the textile goods between them. I

This invention relates to a press for the pressing of wearing apparel or parts thereof or of other textile goods or similar goods, having a bottom iron or pressing table, for the article to be pressed, said table being adapted for heating.

The known presses of this kind are provided with an upper iron which, in a suitable manner, is supported in the frame of the press in such a way that with a considerable pressure it can be exerted down against the lower iron or pressing board, e.g. hydraulically.

On account of the requisite pressure, great rigidity and strength of the frame are required and the press thus assumes very considerable dimensions and great weight, and besides, a considerable power consumption is called for to produce the necessary force.

The present invention aims at providing a press of the kind discussed, in which dimensions and weight are appreciably smaller than is the case with the known presses and with which an at least equally great pressure can nevertheless be produced.

According to the invention, this is achieved by means of a frame with a pliant, air-tight sheet or foil being stretched thereon, which foil consists of a material resistant to the heat and possible humidity requisite for the pressing, which frame is intended to lie tightly against the lower iron or pressing table with the foil covering the article to be pressed, in addition to which the lower iron or pressing table is connected to means for the production of a vacuum between its surface and the foil.

It is obvious that in this way the requisite pressure is obtained practically without any demands being made re garding the strength of the materials, and the support, which is a very important part of the known presses, can be dispensed with entirely, since the frame may be loose and is merely placed on the pressing table when the pressing is to take place, or possibly, in a simple manner may be connected with the pressing table by means of hinges. The pressure obtained depends on the imperviousness between the frame and the pressing table, but it does not give rise to any ditficulties in obtaining a pressure of over 0.5 kg./cm. If one visualizes an ironing table with a useful (effective) area of l m. this will correspond to a pressure of over 5.000 kg., which calls for an extraordinarily robust construction, if this pressure is to be obtained with the known presses having an upper iron that is pressed down by hydraulic means. In the press according to the invention, the area can without difficulty be enlarged still further and the sole prerequisite is that the table has to have the necessary rigidity for resisting the stress it is exposed to by placing and removing the articles to be pressed.

3,555,711 Patented Jan. 19, 1971 The invention, moreover, entails the advantage of the amount of pressure supplied on each part of the'articles to be pressed being the same, independent of thickness variations, e.g. arising out of the circumstance that in some places there are more layers of material than in others, or when embroidered articles are being pressed. Something of a corresponding effect is in itself obtained in a known construction, in which a cushion filled with air or liquid is employed between the upper iron and the articles to be pressed, but in this case too, the press as a whole is constructed like the known presses dealt with above.

In connection with presses it is, furthermore, known to effect a suction between the pressing irons, but here it is a question of a suction of steam by drawing air through and thus there is not by this suction created any vacuum which to a noticeable degree contributes to the amount of pressure supplied.

In an embodiment of the invention the lower iron or pressing table has a circumferential edge forming a contact surface for the frame with the foil, and inside this edge a groove is provided which, via a connecting stub is intended to be connected with means for the production of the vacuum.

It has been established that an especially effective vacuum can be achieved by this means, while the articles to be pressed are completely and uniformly supported over the entire area of their extension on the lower iron which, in the customary manner, may be covered with felt or a similar material.

In a modification of the invention the frame with the foil is designed to constitute the lower iron of the press. The action of the press remains precisely the same, but, since it will be possible without any difiiculty to have several frames, the operation of the press can be rationalized by the placing of the articles to be pressed on one frame being effected at the same time as carrying out the pressing with another.

In this case it may be advantageous to employ a covering piece of textile material or pliant foil material which is adapted to be stretched across one or more articles to be pressed on the first-mentioned foil for securing the said article or articles, since, in a simple manner, the position of the articles to be pressed can be secured during transport to the press.

Finally, a layer of porous, yielding material may be fixed to the active area of the foil, whereby the vacuum is distributed evenly over the entire surface.

In the following the invention is described in greater detail while referring to the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows diagrammatically a part of an embodiment of the press according to the invention, shown in an oblique representation,

FIG. 2 shows the same part in cross section together with a further part of the press, and

FIG. 3 shows a cross section like the one shown in FIG. 2 in a modified embodiment of the press according to the invention.

In the embodiment of the press according to the invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it comprises a lower iron 1 of suitable, rigid material and provided with heating means in the form of an electric heating element 2. Instead of electric heating, any other form of heating may, however, be employed, e.g. steam heating, in which case the lower iron must be constructed with ducts or a hollow space for the flow of steam.

The lower iron 1 is rectangular in the embodiment shown and a distance within all the four edges a groove 3 is provided that communicates with a connecting stub 4, intended for connection to a vacuum pump.

Unlike the known presses, the press has no upper iron but has, on the other hand, a frame 5 with a foil 7 of pliant. material stretched thereon by means of stretching members 6, the foil material being e.g. a glass fibrearmoured silicone rubber sheet. The frame fits for abutment against the top side of the lower iron 1 in an area 8 along the four edges of the lower iron outside the groove 3.

The articles 9 to be pressed are placed on the lower iron within groove 3 and the frame with the foil is put thereon, after which the vacuum pump is started so that the air is extracted from the space between the surface of lower iron 1 and foil 7. Incidentally, the foil 7 in the embodiment shown is provided with an additional reinforcement layer which may be of the same material as the foil 7 or of another material, e.g. felt.

In this way, a uniform pressure of 0.5 to 1 kg./cm. over the entire area within the groove 3 can be obtained, whereby a particularly effective and uniform pressing can be attained.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 corresponds quite substantially to the one described above, only with the difference of it being reversed, so that what is designated as lower iron 1 lies uppermost. The articles to be pressed 9 are consequently placed on foil 7 before the latter is brought into pressing position. In order to make sure that the articles to be pressed do not adhere to the pressing iron, a covering piece 11 may be attached which, in a manner not shown in detail, may be stretched over the articles 9 to be pressed.

In the last-mentioned embodiment several frames may be employed which, for instance, may constitute parts of an annular turntable, whereby two people are able to simultaneously carry out the placing on to and removing from, respectively, of a frame on one side and of a frame on the other side of the press, while at the same time pressing takes place with an intermediate frame, in that 4 the pressing operationmay be performed by one of the two persons mentioned, e.g. by means of a pedal.

What I claim is:

1. A press for the pressing of wearing apparel or parts thereof or of other textile goods or similar goods, comprising a pressing table for receiving'the" article to be pressed, a frame having a pliant, air-tight foil stretched thereon, said foil consisting of a material resistant to the heat and possible humidity requisite for,the,pressing, said frame and said table being selectively relatively. displaceable to lie against each other with the foil covering the article to be pressed, and means connected to the pressing tfablle for producing a vacuum between the table and'the 2. A press as claimed in claim 1 wherein said vacuum producing means comprises a groove formed in said pressing table spaced from the circumferential edge thereof, vacuum pressure source means, and means connecting said groove to said source whereby a vacuum is produced between a contact surface of said frame and the foil with the pressing table.

3. A press as claimed in claim 1 wherein the frame with the foil constitute a lower fixed portion of the press.

4. A press as claimed in claim 3 further comprising a covering piece of textile material ofpliant foil material provided to be stretched across the'aritcle to be pressed and hold said article against said first-mentioned foil.

5. A press as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a layer of porous, yielding material fixed to the foils active area.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1928 Burnley 3871X 12/1966 Esaka 3871 

